Latest from Mark Finkelstein

Both MSNBC's Morning Joe and CNN's New Day suggested President Trump's declining to take a pardon for Paul Manafort off the table could constitute "obstruction," with the MSNBC legal analyst adding the possibility that it could amount to "witness tampering."

Morning Joe regular and professor Eddie Glaude Jr. calls Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who yesterday won re-election, the "last breath of the inheritors of the plantation class." Glaude also claims that Mississippi could change if poor people "acted in their interests."

On CNN's New Day, Joe Johns reports that two nooses were found on the grounds of the Mississippi state capitol, and that supporters of Mike Espy, the African-American Dem candidate in today's Senate run-off race, "hope to turn anger into turnout."

On Hardball, Chris Matthews takes a surprisingly firm stand on illegal immigration, saying "at some point, there's going to have to be enforcement," and agreeing with an RNC member who says that seeking a job is not a basis for asylum.

Morning Joe introduces Lauren Leader as the founder of a "non-partisan" organization. She proceeds to call on the military to disobey Commander-in-Chief Trump's orders on protecting the border from illegal entry.

On her MSNBC show, Joy Reid scoffs at the suggestion by guest Tiffany Cross that a ticket of Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey could beat President Trump "by a landslide." Reid says: "we know racially-polarized voting is a real thing and people will say they will vote for Oprah until she is on the ballot."

Interviewing Women's March head Teresa Shook, who has called for her co-chairs including Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory to resign over issues of anti-Semitism and homophobia, CNN's Alisyn Camerota pointed to a statement that Sarsour and her fellow co-chairs put out. Camerota challenges Shook, saying, "they sound contrite. They're apologizing. They want to continue to learn. Why can't they stay on?"

On CNN's New Day, co-host Alisyn Camerota, reacting to the news that Ivanka Trump used personal email, turned to former Trump aide Marc Short and snidely asked: "Marc, at Trump rallies, they chant 'lock her up, lock her up.' Who are they referring to? Hillary, or Ivanka?"

Does John Berman see himself as a news host, or is he auditioning for a late-night, Trump-trolling, "comedy" gig? The question arises after CNN's Berman, on this morning's New Day, suggested that President Trump is "full of schiff."

On CNN's "State of the Union," host Jake Tapper three times presses losing Dem Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams as to whether she acknowledges that her Republican opponent, Brian Kemp, will be the "legitimate" governor. Abrams refuses to do so, conceding only that Kemp "received an adequate number of votes" and hence would be the "legal" governor.

Morning Joe has been reduced to a Trump-trolling mess, in which every show is essentially the same. A show so predictable, it's boring. As Crosby, Stills & Nash put it in Judy Blue Eyes: "It's getting to the point, where I'm no fun anymore."

On Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough scolds Democrats seeking to prevent Nancy Pelosi from becoming Speaker. Joe repeatedly praises Pelosi as highly "competent," and analogizes her to Alex Cora, manager of the World Series-winning Red Sox, suggesting that denying Pelosi the Speakership would be as illogical as replacing Cora.

CNN's New Day panel twice refers to the Trump White House as a "banana republic." And former Clinton press secretary Joe Lockhart claims that a Washington Post article quoted a "White House official saying on background that 'this is like the Maury show. The only thing we're missing is a paternity test.'" Alisyn Camerota responds: "oh my God." Problems: the article was in Politico, not the Washington Post. And the source wasn't a "White House official on background." It was a former WH official, and thus someone with no current first-hand knowledge.

MSNBC's Morning Joe and CNN's New Day heap praise on Republican Martha McSally for quickly and "gracefully" conceding to Dem Kyrsten Sinema in their Senate race in Arizona. In contrast, the two shows castigated Republican Rick Scott for fighting it out in Florida. Neither network calls on Dems Gillum, Nelson or Abrams to emulate McSally's example.

On her MSNBC show today, discussing Republican criticism of Broward Election Supervisor Brenda Snipes, Joy Reid says: "here is the way they are treating Brenda Snipes, who is the long-time Election Supervisor there, who by the way is an older black woman in the Deep South."

CNN played a clip of Seth Meyers, from his Late Night show on NBC, saying: "Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is recovering in the hospital after she fell in her office and fractured three ribs. Wow: if you had told me a Supreme Court Justice fell over and broke some ribs, I would have bet on the new guy." Late Night then cut to a clip of Kavanaugh saying "I like beer."

As seen in the mashup, Morning Joe taunts PresidentTrump with a barrage of insults, casting the election results as a huge loss for the President, and depicting him as "freaked-out, weak, battered, confused."

On Morning Joe, Willie Geist says that President Trump would like nothing more than for House Dems to launch an impeachment investigation. Geist says it would be "the Kavanaugh situation multiplied times a thousand."

On Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough says that not judging friends according to their vote is "a little harder to do in 2018." Scarborough had tweeted that those voting for "Trump," [i.e., Republicans] are voting for "lies" and "racism."

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